Absenteeism climbed to an all – time high of $789 per employee on an annual basis, costing small companies as much as $60,000 a year and larger employers $3.6 million. This accounts for approximately 2.3 percent of employers’ payroll expenditure.A survey found that personal illness was the main reason for an employee’s absence, with 33 percent of respondants citing this as the single most common reason for last minute, no-shows.

Employers need to take preventative measures to curb the problem through absence control and life programs that maximize productivity and control costs, adding that employers can not afford to cling to traditional sick leave policies.